Incretin mimetics: a novel therapeutic option for patients with type 2 diabetes – a review

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease associated with low quality of life and early death. The goal in diabetes treatment is to prevent these outcomes by tight glycemic control and minimizing vascular risk factors. So far, even intensified combination regimen with the traditional antidiabetes agents have failed to obtain these goals. Incretin mimetics are a new class of antidiabetes drugs which involve modulation of the incretin system. They bind to and activate glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors on pancreatic beta-cells following which insulin secretion and synthesis are initiated. Since the compounds have no insulinotropic activity at lower glucose concentrations the risk of hypoglycemia – a well-known shortcoming of existing antidiabetes treatments – is low. Additionally, incretin mimetics have been shown to be associated with beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors such as weight loss, decrease in blood pressure and changes in lipid profile. Current clinical data on the two available incretin mimetics, exenatide and liraglutide, are evaluated in this review, focusing on pharmacology, efficacy, safety and tolerability. The review is built on a systematic PubMed and Medline search for publications with the key words GLP-1 receptor agonist, exenatide, liraglutide and type 2 diabetes mellitus up to January 2009

Modulation of the conformational space of SARS-CoV-2 RNA quadruplex RG-1 by cellular components and the amyloidogenic peptides α-Synuclein and hIAPP

Given the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which particularly threatens older people with comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus and dementia, understanding the relationship between Covid-19 and other diseases is an important factor for treatment. Possible targets for medical intervention include G-quadruplexes (G4Qs) and their protein interaction partners. We investigated the stability and conformational space of the RG-1 RNA-G-quadruplex of the SARS-CoV-2 N-gene in the presence of salts, cosolutes, crowders and intrinsically disordered peptides, focusing on α-Synuclein and the human islet amyloid polypeptide, which are involved in Parkinson's disease (PD) and type-II diabetes mellitus (T2DM), respectively. We found that the conformational dynamics of the RG-1 G4Q is strongly affected by the various solution conditions. Further, the amyloidogenic peptides were found to strongly modulate the conformational equilibrium of the RG-1. Considerable changes are observed with respect to their interaction with human telomeric G4Qs, which adopt different topologies. These results may therefore shed more light on the relationship between PD as well as T2DM and the SARS-CoV-2 disease and their molecular underpinnings. Since dysregulation of G4Q formation by rationally designed targeting compounds affects the control of cellular processes, this study should contribute to the development of specific ligands for intervention

Study of Magnetic Excitation in Singlet-Ground-State Magnets CsFeCl3_3 and RbFeCl3_3 by Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation

The temperature dependences of spin-lattice relaxation time $T_1$ of $^{133}$Cs in CsFeCl$_3$ and $^{87}$Rb in RbFeCl$_3$ were measured in the temperature range between 1.5 K and 22 K, at various fields up to 7 T applied parallel (or perpendicular) to the c-axis, and the analysis was made on the basis of the DCEFA. The mechanism of the nuclear magnetic relaxation is interpreted in terms of the magnetic fluctuations which are characterized by the singlet ground state system. In the field region where the phase transition occurs, $T_1^{-1}$ exhibited the tendency of divergence near $T_{\rm N}$, and this feature was ascribed to the transverse spin fluctuation associated with the mode softening at the $K$-point. It was found that the damping constant of the soft mode is remarkably affected by the occurrence of the magnetic ordering at lower temperature, and increases largely in the field region where the phase transition occurs.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Alteration of the conformational dynamics of a DNA hairpin by α-synuclein in the presence of aqueous two-phase systems

The effect of an amyloidogenic intrinsically disordered protein, α-synuclein, which is associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), on the conformational dynamics of a DNA hairpin (DNA-HP) was studied by employing the single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer method. The open-to-closed conformational equilibrium of the DNA-HP is drastically affected by binding of monomeric α-synuclein to the loop region of the DNA-HP. Formation of a protein-bound intermediate conformation is fostered in the presence of an aqueous two-phase system mimicking intracellular liquid-liquid phase separation. Using pressure modulation, additional mechanistic information about the binding complex could be retrieved. Hence, in addition to toxic amyloid formation, α-synuclein may alter expression profiles of disease-modifying genes in PD. Furthermore, these findings might also have significant bearings on the understanding of the physiology of organisms thriving at high pressures in the deep sea

ESCRT machinery mediates selective microautophagy of endoplasmic reticulum in yeast

ER-phagy, the selective autophagy of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), safeguards organelle homeostasis by eliminating misfolded proteins and regulating ER size. ER-phagy can occur by macroautophagic and microautophagic mechanisms. While dedicated machinery for macro-ER-phagy has been discovered, the molecules and mechanisms mediating micro-ER-phagy remain unknown. Here, we first show that micro-ER-phagy in yeast involves the conversion of stacked cisternal ER into multilamellar ER whorls during microautophagic uptake into lysosomes. Second, we identify the conserved Nem1-Spo7 phosphatase complex and the ESCRT machinery as key components for micro-ER-phagy. Third, we demonstrate that macro- and micro-ER-phagy are parallel pathways with distinct molecular requirements. Finally, we provide evidence that the ESCRT machinery directly functions in scission of the lysosomal membrane to complete the microautophagic uptake of ER. These findings establish a framework for a mechanistic understanding of micro-ER-phagy and, thus, a comprehensive appreciation of the role of autophagy in ER homeostasis

The dielectric clad axial slot antenna

Dieletric clad axial slot antenna